Attributing Change

The extent to which we can say that a change in outcomes was caused by your provision (or a part of it) is very challenging in social programmes.

It is more feasible and, perhaps, preferable to think about correlation (that there is a mutual relationship or connection between your provision and changes in outcomes) or contribution (that your provision contributes alongside other factors to changes in outcomes).

The resource hub can help to find the necessary guidance to explore the relationship between your provision and its outcomes.​

​The Summary of Instruments resource is contained within the larger Wilderdom website which is concerned with outdoor education provision.

What is it?The Summary of Instruments resource is contained within the larger Wilderdom website which is concerned with outdoor education provision. The resource itself compiles summaries of instruments that can be used to measure results and any changes that occur after interventions or training programs have been completed.

Is it right for me?The website provides a very useful overview of many instruments covering multiple domains, all in one place. By instruments', we are referring to a type of tool that can be used to measure change, such as a questionnaire or a rating scale. It is not targeted at the youth sector specifically but the instruments have been neatly sorted into categories depending on who their target population is so for your purposes, the "youth-at-risk" and "community" categories would likely be the most relevant.

The user can click on the link to each instrument and receive a description of it and, in some instances, the full development paper which provides more extensive explanations of the instruments as well as demonstrating evidence as to which groups it has been tested for and approved for use with. The website also provides links to other online resources where, if no suitable instrument has been found, additional tools can be sourced.

A really commendable aspect of the website is the rating system given to each measurement instrument included which could be extremely helpful to users not wholly familiar with them. The ratings take into account a number of factors, including the length of time a tool takes to administer and whether it comes with normative data for comparison. In addition, it provides insight into what other tools could be combined with a particular measure, which again is a helpful feature. It also notes whether the tool is free to use or must be purchased from the developers. Finally, there is an overall numeric rating out of ten, which delivers an instant visual evaluation of the instrument for the user.

Copies of the instruments are often provided on this website; if not, the author's details are so you can request a copy of the instrument yourself. There is no log in or registration required; all the information is available to use immediately and for no cost.

However, the website itself is visually uninteresting and basic and has not been updated for a number of years so a note of caution is attached; more relevant measurement instruments may be available now.